The Assignee, under Rule 37 CFR 1.27, for this non-provisional application is a small entity.
The field of the invention is postcards for sending messages through the mail.
Greeting cards are configured to convey messages from a sender to a recipient in various ways. A variety of folded greeting cards have been developed, which display images and/or preprinted written messages, and ordinarily provide space where the sender can write a personal message. Such greeting cards may be designed to hold a photograph, a compact disk, or other flat item by insertion into a slot or flap in one page of the card. To ensure safe transport through the mail, folded greeting cards must be inserted within an envelope or other wrapper before mailing. The contents, including a photograph, compact disk, or other item, are typically not visible once the envelope or wrapper is sealed, unless the envelope or wrapper has a window or similar arrangement. Envelopes with window arrangements can be complicated to manufacture and often involve additional expense; they also often do not provide a clear, complete view of the item to be displayed.
Postcards ordinarily constitute a single, stiff page or card, that is flat and not folded, and that includes a front side having an image, such as a scene of a famous landscape, and a back side having space where the sender can provide postal information, including the recipient""s name and postal address and a postage stamp or mark with processing information, and also an area where the sender can write a personal message. The space for writing personal messages or for providing text, such as a written description of the scene on the front side of the postcard, is ordinarily very limited. Additionally, because a conventional postcard is not enclosed in an envelope or other wrapper, and is not folded to protect is contents, it is difficult to attach additional material or items which contain a further message or image, and which will not become detached, or cause the postcard to adhere to other mail or become jammed in postal service sorting and reading machinery.
The present invention is a postcard that includes a means for attaching a compact disk or other similar disk medium, including a digital video disk, multi-laminate disk, or Smartcard, to the postcard. The invention also contemplates attaching a microchip to a postcard. In one embodiment, the postcard of the invention includes a first single sheet, preferably formed from cardstock, having a front side and a back side. The front side includes a first area with a message or a scenic, graphic or artistic image, and a second area with a means for attaching disk media, such as a compact disk, digital video disk or other similar disk medium. In the present embodiment, the back side is blank, although in other embodiments, the back side may include various information, messages, and images, as desired by the manufacturer. The means for attaching a disk medium is preferably a pocket affixed to the front side of the first sheet, having an opening, such as a slit or perforation, through which a compact disk or digital video disk, or other disk medium, can be inserted into or removed from, the pocket. The pocket can be any of several pocket arrangements for holding a disk or other similar medium, the pocket preferably made of a plastic, although other materials such as paper or foil may be used. The pocket is preferably transparent, to permit a purchaser to see the compact disk or other disk medium and relate that to the image also found on the front side of the card. The pocket preferably is sized so that its width and length are slightly larger than the diameter of the disk medium, to snugly hold the disk but also to allow room for easy insertion and/or removal. In one embodiment, the pocket has a back sheet and a front sheet, both formed from clear plastic, bound together to form a cavity in which the disk is held. The pocket is affixed to the front side of the postcard with an adhesive. A slit or perforation in the pocket is used to insert the disk medium and/or remove it from the pocket. In this embodiment, the postcard also includes a filler card, preferably formed of stiff chipboard or cardboard, placed behind the first sheet, to provide support to the first sheet and its attached disk medium. The filler card is preferably not attached or affixed to the first sheet, although in certain embodiments it may be attached to the first sheet with glue or another adhesive. The postcard also includes a thin layer of transparent plastic, preferably a shrink wrap application, covering the postcard, including the first sheet and the filler card, and the pocket, forming a protective layer over the pocket and its contents, and holding the first card and the filler card together. This layer reduces the risk that the pocket, and other parts of the postcard, may become snagged or caught in postal machinery or other mail. Also in this embodiment, a label is affixed to the back side of the postcard, on top of the plastic layer, the label providing a surface for writing address information and personal messages. The label is preferably a paper label with an adhesive backing. In a preferred embodiment, an insert sheet is included in the postcard, positioned between the filler card and the plastic layer, the insert sheet including instructions for use of the disk medium.
In another embodiment of the invention, the postcard includes a single sheet of card stock, having a front side and a back side. In this embodiment, the invention does not include a filler card. This embodiment of the invention is otherwise the same as the embodiment described above. The invention includes a method for making a postcard carrying a disk medium such as a compact disk.
In a preferred embodiment, the content of the disk medium and the message or image on the front side of the card are coordinated. Preferably also, the invention includes a compact disk which contains a video, audio, slide show or multimedia presentation. The compact disk may contain a greeting, including a greeting from the sender, a description of a scenic location or event, or other presentation, which is coordinated with an image displayed on the postcard. As noted above, the pocket is preferably transparent, which enhances the marketing value of the postcard, enabling a potential buyer to see the image of the first area and to understand that the disk medium of the second area will provide multiple images, a sound narrative, and perhaps music further describing the image shown. For example, a resort may use the postcard of the present invention as a marketing tool to display an image of a lodge owned by the resort, and also to provide much more information for potential visitors via a compact disk video presentation of the amenities offered by the lodge as well as recreational activities available in the surrounding area. The present invention may also be sold as a souvenir postcard for tourists or visitors, having an image of a scenic landscape on one area of the front side of the card, and a compact disk on a second area of the front side of the card, the compact disk providing a further description of the history, natural features, and geologic importance of the landscape.